Printing machine



Aug. 4,1931. H. L. THOMPSON 1,817,655

I PRINTING MACHINE Filed July 23, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug- 4, 931- H. L. THOMPSO N 8 7, 5

PRINTING momma I Filed July 23, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I n 7 awwmmwmw I y r- V I VII III II II I I Aug. 4, 1931. H. L. THOMPSON PRINTING MACHINE Filed July 2a, 1928 5 sheets-sheet 4 69 IIIIIIIIIIII Patented Aug. 4, 1931 1 STAES HERBERT L. THOMPSON, OF ELGIN,ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ADDBESSOG-R'AFH COM- PANY, OF "WILMINGTON, DELAJI'AEE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE PRINTING MACHINE Application filed July 23 This invention relates to printing machines adapted to print from address or other forms which are fed one at a time into printing position.

The address or other forms may have the lines of type indented or they may be arranged in vertical alignment, in block style.

I will refer to an indented address form in describing my invention, and to that style of address form which has type characters embossed on a printing plate.

For ordinary addressing a simple impression of the indented printing form referred to is adequate, but it is often desirable to distribute impressions from the several lines of type, or parts thereof,'for different kinds of work. For example, it may be desirable to print the entire address in one line, or-to print the address in difierent alphabetical, geographical, or other arrangement, in columns or otherwise,- for indexing or other purposes. This may involve printing impressions with the lines and parts of lines rearranged in a varietyof ways. As the position of the embossed type characters on the address form is fixed, it is necessary either to move the printing form relative to the card to be printed or to move the card relative to the printing form.

sions in desired arrangement on the card.

The object of the invention is to provide' novel-and simple means for obtaining im pressions of the several lines of type char-' acters comprising the form in a'single printed line according to some predetermined are rangement. i

Another object is to provide novel and simple means for shifting the card to be printed to takeimpressions from the sev-" eral lines of type comprising the form in any order desired and in a single line. i

Another object is to provide novel and simple means for preventing certain portions of the form from being printed whileother -ratchet 5. The printing forms are usually. and preferably fed to printing position along a rigid track andit is preferred to move the card relative to the printing form as being a simple and adequate 1 method for distributing the address impres rod 15 engages the block 14 and a boss 17 1928. Serial No. 294,824.

rangement and in a single line.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating a selected embodiment of the invention, the

views are as follows Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the printing machine.

Fig. 2 is a detail elevation of a part of the mechanism. I

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of th mask and carriage controlling means.

' Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive are detail plan views 7 showing the parts in diii'erent printing positions. 7

Fig. 8 is a plan View of an address form printing device which may be used in the machine.

Figs. 9 to 13 inclusive show consecutive printing operations on a sheet.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a base to which is pivotally secured the stamper arm 2 carrying the platen 2'. A projection 3 on the stamper arm has a pawl 4L pivoted thereto which engages a ratchet 5, Fig. 2, loosely mounted on thetransverse shaft 6. A cam 7 is also mounted on shaft 6 and is preferably made integral with the A- cam Wiper 8 is pivoted to the base at 9 and it carries a roller 10 which engages the cam 7'to swing the arm on its pivot. A

"pin 12 on the arm 8 engages a 'slot 13in a. block 14 which is fixed in adjusted position on the sliding rod 15. A spring16 on the transversely across the machine atthe front I rod-15 isbent at right. angles and extends x thereof. A carriage 20is slida-ble on the rod 15 and its movement is limited by the projection 21 fixed to the end of the rod. A spring barrel 22 is revolubly mounted on the projection 21 and a tape 23, tensioned by the barrel 22, and connected to the carriage at 24, urg the carri ge to; the r g ig. I

A slide has a top rack 26, and it is operated by a pinion 27 on the shaft 28 which is supported on the base and is provided with a hand wheel 28, Fig. 1. A link 29, Fig. 3, pivoted to the slide 25 at 30, carries a pin 31 which engages a slot 32 in the plate 33 fixed to the bar 34. Another link 35 is pivotally connected to the bar 34 at 36 and to thelink 29 at 37. A pin 38 on the end of link 35 engages a slot 39 in the plate 40 which is fastened to the slide 25. These links permit lateral and parallel movement of the plate 33 relative to the slide 25. The carriage 20 is provided with a pin 41. Figs. 4-7, which engages a groove 42 in the bar 34 to move forward and backward the mask 43 which is fastened to bar 34. A stop bar 44 is slidably mounted between the edge of the base and the slide 25, and it is operated by the shoulder 45 on the slide 25 when theslide is'moving to the left, Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive. A spring 46 urges the stop bar 44 to the right, Fig. 1, and holds the stop bar in position against the stop projection 21. The mask is provided with a slot or opening 47 through which the reversely appearing type on the printing form 48 prints; Sidewise movement of the carriage 20 is independent'of the mask 43, but on its front and back movement the carriage carries the mask with it to register with the line of type on the printing form to be printed. The mask is free to move both forward and backward as well as laterally in order to include or exclude any letter of any word in any lineon the form and at either end of the form.

A pointer bar 50 carrying the pointers 51 and 52 is slidably mounted on the base and it is operated by the pinion 53 on the shaft 28 engaging the bottom rack 54 on the pointer bar, Fig; 1. The pinion 53 engages the bottom rack 54 on the pointer bar while the pinion 27 engages the top rack 28 on the slide 25, so that when the hand wheel 26 is operated the slide 25 and the pointer bar 50 will be moved'in opposite directions. A spring 55 is connected to one end of the pointer bar and to apin 56 on the base to return the pointer bar to initial position when the hand wheel is released. The pointer bar operates in a direction opposite to the stop'ba-r and spring 55 pulls oppositely to spring 46.

An auxiliary platen 57, Fig. 1, registering with slot 47 in mask 43 is fixed to the rod 15 to move therewith so that as the rod'15 carries the carriage 20 back and forth the auxiliary platen will be maintained in registration with said slot to printthe line of the form which is registered with the slot.

The printing devices 48, Fig. 8, are-stacked in a magazine 59, Fig. 1', and are fed in slide 60 one at a time to printing position ina manner well known in the art, or they may be inserted and removed by: hand ifdesired. The printing devices are provided with aninformation card 61 which contains a reading impression of the form and any other matter.

The carriage 20 is provided with a holder 62 adapted to receive a card which is maintained in proper position by the spring clamp 63. The carriage is also provided with a stop plate 64, Figs. 4-7, which engages pins 6771 set in holes 65 in the stop bar 44. These holes are equally spaced apart in each row and they are arranged in four lateral rows spaced to correspond with the type line spacing on the printing device. The individual holes in each line allow for setting the stoppins to position the carriage to correspond with the several lines of type on the printing device.

An ink ribbon 66 extends through printing position andthe printing is done through the ribbon. The ribbon may be fed during each operation of the stamper arm in a manner well known in the art. The mask 43 covers the ribbonso that only the type characters aligned with the slot 48 in the mask will be printed.

To print the three line address of Fig. 8 in a single line on a file card, for example, the file card is placed face down in the holder and the pins are set in the stop bar so that when the stop plate 64 engages pin 68 and the cam wiper roller 10 is engaged in the initial rest on cam- 7, the right edge of the file card willregister with the right end of the slot in the mask. This will bring the first type character impression of the first type line, Fig. 8, at the left edge of the printed card. If a left hand margin is desired on the card it should be moved to the right and pin 68 changed accordingly. Pin 67 is placed in the same row of holes with pin 68 and at the left of pin 68 to guide the carriage in its lateral movementafter the first type line is printed. The edge of the stop plate is relieved to engage pin 67 while the projection 64 at the end of the plate engages pin 68. But it is desired to print the surname Buckingham .of the address form first and then print the initials S. T. and the hand wheel is turned clockwise to position pointer 51 at the beginning of the surname on the information card excluding the initials from the space between the pointers which space is equal in length to the slot in the mask, Fig. 4. Then Buck- 0 ingha m alone will be aligned in type with slot 47 and'will be printed beginning the printed line, Fig. 9. As the stamper arm rises after this printing operation pawl 4 revolves cam 7 one stop and as the wiper roller passes over the lobe of the cam, angle rod-15,-15 and-the carriage move forward one line space until stop plate 64 is carried out of engagement with pin 68 whereupon the springbarrel22pulls the carriage to the right until stop-plate 64 engages pin 69, Fig. 5, which has been set for printing the initials S. T. immediately after Buckingham in the same. line. Hand wheel is then turned counter clockwise to position initials S. T.

between the pointers, Fig. 5, and these letters only vwill print alongside Buckingham Fig. 10. These operations are repeated for the second and third lines of the address form, Figs. 6, 7, 11 and 12, pins and 71 being set accordingly. The pin which has actedas an end stop for the stop plate and carriage during each printing operation becomes the edge guide for the stop plate during the next printing operation. This'setting of the pins may be used in a continuous run of similar printing devices to be printed in the same way. 7 V r The invention provides a machine of simple construction which can be easily and quickly set and operated for printing forms and in any desired arrangement of thelinesand type characters thereon for alphabetical, geographical or other listing or classification. More rows of holes in'the stop bar may be provided as required and changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and the right is reserved to make all such changes as fairly fall Within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a movable carriage carrying a card to be printed and operated by the stamper arm, and selective means co-operating with the carriage for selectively reposi.

tioning the card in printing position at each operation of the stamper arm, said means comprising interchangeable stops supported on the base and adapted to engage and positlon the carriage.

2. A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a movable carriage carrymg a card to be printed and operated by the stamper arm, means co-operating with the carriage for automatically repositioning the card in printing position at each operation of the stamper arm, said means comprising a perforated stop bar, and pins seated in selected perforations and adapted to. engage and position the carriage.

3. A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a movable carriage carrying a card to be printed and operated by the stamper arm, means co-operating with the carriage for automatically repositioning the card in printing position at each operation of the stamper arm, said means comprising a stop plate on the carriage,and stops supported on the base and adapted to be engaged by said step plate to position the carriage.

4. A printing'machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a movable carriage carrying a card to be printed and operated by the stamper arm, means co-operating with the carriage for automatically repositioning the card in printing position at each operation of the stamper arm, said means comprising a stop plate on the carriage, a perforated stop bar, and pins seated in selected perforations and adapted to. engage the stop plate and position the carriage.

5. Aprinting machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a movable carriage carrying a card to be printed and operated by the stamper arm, means co-operating with the carriage for automatically repositioning the card in'printing position at each operation of thestamper arm, said means comprising a 7 stop plate on the carriage, a stop bar having a plurality of rowsv of holes, the holes of the rows being aligned, and removable pins seated in selected holes to engage the stop plate and position the carriage. I

61 A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a movable carriage carrying a card to be printed and operated by the stamper arm, means co-operating with the carriage for automatically repositioning the card in printing position at each operation of the stamper arm, said means comprising a stop plate on the carriage, a stop bar having a plurality of rows of holes, the holes of the rows being aligned, and removable pins seated in selected holes to engage the stop plate and position the carriage, two pins being arranged in one row of holes to engage a side edge and one end of the stop plate and one pin being arranged in each of the other rows to engage the same end of the stop plate.

7. A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a'movable carriage carrying a card to beprinted and operated by the stamper arm, means co-operating with the carriage for automatically repositioning the card in printing position at each operation of the stamper arm, said means comprising a stop plate on the carriage, and stops supported on the base and adapted to be engaged by said step plate to position the carriage, said stop plate having a projection at one end to engage a stop.

8. A printing machine comprising a base,

a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a carriage carrying a card to r be printed, interchangeable selector stops for 7 9. A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an n'npression platen on the stamper arm, a carrlage carrying a card to be printed, interchangeable selector stops for the carriage adapted to be positioned to pred'etermine the different positions for the carriage after each printing operation, and means operated by the stamper arm for moving the carriage automatically to a new position. after each printing operation in accordance with the positions of said stops.

10. A printing machine comprising abase, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stam e 1 arm, a carriage carrying a card to be printed, a selector device having interchangeable stops adapted to be positioned to pre-s'elect difierent positions for the carriage after each printing operation, and means for moving the carriage automatically to a pro-selected position after each printing operation, said means comprising a bodily movable support for the carriage operated by the stamper arm.

11. A printing machine comprising a: base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a carriage carrying a card to be printed, stops for the carriage to reposition it after each printing operation, and means for moving the carriage automatically to a new position after each printing operation, said means comprising a bodily movable support for the carriage operated by the stamper arm, and tension means connected to the carriage.

12. A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a carriage carrying a card to be printed, stops for the carriage to reposition it after each printing operation, means for moving the carriage automatically to a ne i position after each printing operation, said means comprising a support operated by the stamper arm for moving the carriage forwardly, and tension means connected to the carriage for moving the carriage laterally.

13. A printing machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, an impression platen on the stamper arm, a carriage carrying a card to be printed, stops for the carriage, a selector device having a plurality of interchangeable stops adapted to be placed in different positions to pro-select different positions for the carriage after each printing operation, and means for forwardly and laterally moving the carriage into engagement with said stops after each printing operation.

14. A printing machine for printing from printing forms bearing a plurality of lines of type characters and comprising a base, a stamper arm, a platen carried by the stamper arm, a carriage carrying a card to be printed, a mask above the printing form having a slot to register with a line of type, means for adjusting the mask laterlly to expose the whole or a portion of a line of type through said slot for printing, said means comprising a rack and pinion, and a hand wheel to r I operating the piniom 15. A printing machine for printing from printing devices comprising a printing form of a plurality of lines of type characters reversely appearing and an information card bearing a reading impression of said form, said machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, a platen carried by the stamper arm, acarriage carrying a card to be printed, a mask above the printing form having a slot to register with a line of type, a pointer operating above the information card, and means connected With said mask and pointer for operating them simultaneously.

16. A printing machine for printing from printing devices comprising a printing form of a plurality of lines of type characters re versely appearing and an information card bearing a reading impression of said form, said machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, a platen carried by the stamper arm, a carriage carrying a card to be printed, a mask above the printing form having a slot to register With a line of type, a pointer operating above the information card, and means connected with said mask and pointer for operating them simultaneously and in opposite directions.

17. A printing machine for printing from printing devices comprising a printing form of a plurality of lines of type characters reversely appearing and an information card bearing a reading impression of said form, said machine comprising a base, a stamper arm, a platen carried by the stamper arm, a carriage carrying a card to be printed, a mask above the printing form having a slot to register with a line of type, a pointer op erating above the information card, and means comprising top and bottom racks, pinions engaging said bars, a shaft carrying said pinions, and a hand Wheel for operating said shaft.

18. A printing machine for printing from printing forms bearing a plurality of lines of type characters and comprising a base, a stamper arm, a platen carried by the stamper arm, a mask above the printing form and having a slot to register with a line of type, and an auxiliary platen registering with said slot and adapted to be engaged by the platen on the stamper arm.

HERBERT L. THOMPSON. 

